Bonus-determining device.



.H. E. OLIVER. BONUS DETERMINING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1913.-

Patented July 21, 1914,

I lln -Iran s rarss FATE orator.

HENRY n. orrvna, or BIBMINGHAM, ALA AMA, ASSIGNOB crown-HALF 'ro JOHN v. MORRIS, or BIRI iINGI-IAM, ALABAMA.

BONUS-DETERMINING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Eatcnt.

latonted July 21, 1914..

Application filed June 2 1.913. Serial No. 771,344.

0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. OLIVER, a

' ferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bonus-Determining Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inmachines designed to stimulate business and which are dependent upon the skill of the customer for determining the amount of bonus which he shall receive in merchandise with each purchase. The object of my invention is to design a machine provided with an elongated coin slot so that the customer may select any point in the slot to drop his coin. The coin passage is interrupted by a small umber of carefully arranged cushion pins from which the coins are adapted to rebound into one of the coin receiving pockets but which permit the cus tomer by the skilful manner in which he drops the coin to cause it to fall into the desired pocket which entitles the customer to receive a bonus in addition to, the purchase which he contemplates. The pins are so arranged with reference to the slot and the pockets that the customer, who is sufliciently skilfu'l, may succeed in causing his coin'to drop into a given pocketby rebounding from pin to pin or to the side of the cabinet, the coin acting like a billiard or a pool hall in responding to definite laws covering its travel. In this respect my invention difi'ers in principle and operation from the machines in which the coin is dropped through a restricted slot and works its way through a numberof interposed pins before it falls into the coin pockets, for there the customer has no opportunity to bring into play his skill in selecting the point at which to drop the coin after a careful consideration of its probable action with reference to the pin or pins which he intends it to strike.'

My mventlon further comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts which are hereinafter more particularly described and claimed, reference being had. to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my invenllOIL; vFig. 2 is a top plan View of the same; and Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing details of the slot and pin construction.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts tl'iroughout the drawings.

In its preferredembodiment, my inventron compr ses a cabinet provided with a bottom compartment 1 having a rear opening for the insertion and removal of a subdivided coin till 2 and a top slot or opening 3 through which coins fall 1nto the till.

Above the compartment 1 the cabinetcom- .prises upright members 4 which receive a vertically disposed glass front or panel 5 which stands close to and parallel with a wooden back panel (3. The panels and 6 are mounted in or connected to the sidemembers l and the space between them registers with the slot 3 below. The members t are connected at their tops by spaced strips or members 7 and these members are covered by two parallel strips of glass 8 which are spaced about the thickness of a coin apart and which are held firmly clamped in spaced relationship on the top members by metal corner plates 9. These corner plates are se-' curely fastened to the uprights d and cover the top corners of the cabinet, having. a top retaining pin 25 which is inserted between and serves to hold. the glass strips 8 firmly in spaced relationship to form an elongated slot 10, the sides of which are closed by the corner pieces themselves. This slot extends across the major portionof the width of the top; The vertical back panel 6 has fastened therein a set of pins or pegs 11 whichare preferably surrounded by cylindrical cush ions 12 formed of rubber or other resilient material through which the pins are passed or driven into the panel 6. The lower part of the coin passage formed between the panels 5 and 6 is divided into coin receiving pockets by vertical parallel partitions formed of any suitable material and preferably connected to the panel 6. 'The central coin receiving pocket 13 is formed by two middle partitions ll and on each side of this pocket- I arrange two wider pockets 15 formed etween the partitions H and partitions 16. The outside pockets 17 are formed between the partitions 16 andtli'e side walls of the coin passage. These pockets 1? are substantially overhung by deflecting tapering blocks 18 which are connected to the side members and disposed one ab e each pocket 17. Altthe upper end of cachet the partitions 1% and 1G and at tho'outer-end each block 1S,'I.H101U'll a resilient member such as one of the cushioned pins 11.; ii suliicient "vertical opening being left between each partition 16 and its adjacent block 18 permits the cabinet and-has a slot 22 therein which receives the free end of a flat" spring 23 Wl1lCl1l10llS the slide in ltsinner position and is fastened'to the rear Wall of the cabinet. -A knob 24 on the outer end of the stein permits it to be retracted and permits all the coins in the several pockets to drop simultaneousl; into corresponding pockets in the till 8, which pockets are formed by partitions ZG'therein, v

It will be noted that the several pins 1 and the blocks 18 are so arranged that a coin dropped through the slot 10. can be caused to engage any one of the pins or blocks at the desired angle so that it "will rebound therefrom and drop into any one of the coin pockets. Itwill also be noted that the pins'll are so disposed and arranged that the customer dropping the coin can calculate with moreor less accuracy, depending upon his skill, just What pin or pins or what block 18 the coin should strik and the direction in which it should rebound therefrom in order to fall into the pocket for which he is playing. In this respect the skill required is similar the game of pool, the coin taking the place of the ball played, the pins and blocks taking the place of the cushions of the pool table, and the player seeking by the point at which the coin is dropped. to cause it to rebound from cushion to cushion and to ultimately lodge in the pocket for which he is playin The dropping of the coin gives it the momentum which the cue gives the pool ball and the selection of the point for dropping the coin rebound from the and this in turn movements. 7

It being the object of my invention to re Ward the skill displayed by the customer in dropping the coins, the pins are arranged to IllitlIG the central pocket 13 the most difiicult poo in. which to drop the coin and a bonus of two additional articles is irovided for customer Who i ".qilfui enouglti to lodge coin. in the es l 'lo indie numeral 3" is a. vnel 6 opposite pocket allotted. the coins fallin" irets 15, which are it, and one not not;

determines its angle of pm which it first strikes governs its subsequent to that required for 20 andhas an operating 1 a bonus isallotiedto coins falling into the extreme side pockets 17 ywhich are accordan numbered 2.

ll fhe glass strips forming the coin slot '10 are selected because the glass .cannot be marked to indicate coins droped, would-most likely earn a bonus, for if such markswere made and coins dropped with respect thereto, it would increase too greatlythe percentage of bonuses Which the machine is designed toal- I lowas an average, The arrangement of the pins and. the size of curately calculated any desiredaverage premium or bonus and inasmuch as each coin always fallsin a pocket entitling the customer-to at least the article which apparatus operates only to the. advantage of the'oustomer in allowing under certain conditions The coin passage Wayshould be vertically the pockets can be acsothat coins will rebound freely from the pins. Also I prefer the pins to be always so arrangedthat a coin cannot be dropped directly into a bonusgiving pocket'as-it increases the interest in. the game and the skillrequired if the coin must take a cush outer pmlrets. The blocks 18 prevent coins dropping directly into the pockets 1? and he coin droppingdirec'tlyi into that pocket but yet permits one W119 is Skilful' enough to drop his coin on th either partition 14' so that it Will drop into the pocket 13. A number ofregular shots for the pockets 1301-17 can be made by dropping a coin from different points against dilierent pins, ,and these may be varied by changing the arrangement of the pins, but always the gist of my invention lies in so arranging the pins that the fall of the coin can be predetermined by the skill of the operator and not by chance.

Having thus described my ini ention, what 1' claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet comprising a Wide coin, passage Way, a series of coin receiving pockets provided at the bottom of said passage Way, a top cover for said passage W21," hav ing therein an elongated coin slot WhlCll ere tends directly over a major portion of the bottom of the coin passage Way above said pockets, a transparent front Wall for said coin passage Way, and pins which. project into said coin passage Way and are arranged vents t to prevent a. coin being dropped directly into any given pocket while" permitting the oin to be dropped skilfully to directly strike any one of a number of pins and to substantially. as described.

he intended to purchase, the.

him more than one" ion before it can fall into the middle or e. pin over rebound therefrom before. entering apoclret,

the points at which the to give the customers the pin iimnediately over the pocket 13 pre- 1 ice 2 In an apparatus of the character described, a -cabinet provided with a wide vertical coin passage having its frontwall transparent, resilient pins'interposed in said passage way and havlng a predetermined r relationship to each other and to'compoclrets at the bottom ofjthe passage, a cover over the passage having an elongated slot whichextends directly over a'number of said pins to permit a coin being skilfully dropped against any pin selected from among those disposed directly under said slot to obtain a predetermined rebound therefrom, and partitions forming pockets to receive coins-at the bottom of the passage, 3. In an: apparatus of the character de-:

scribed, a cabinet provided with a wide vertical coin passage having substantially parallel'side- Walls and a transparent front-wall,

resilient pins interposed in said passage way and distributed crosswise'thereof in apredetermined relationship to each other and to coin pockets at the bottom of the passage,

.a top cover over the passage having a slot extending substantially from side to side of the top and being suiiicientl; elongated to permit a coin being skilfuly dropped from different selected points in the slot against the pinselected to obtain a predetermined rebound therefrom, partitions forming pockets to receive coins at the bottom of the passage, 2. movable'bottom for the pockets, and a till into which the coins fall when said bottom is moved.

4. In a machine of the character described, a cabinet having a glass front, a back carrying pins set in predetermined relationship, said back and front forming be tween them a coin passage way, a plurality of separate coin receiving pockets disposed at the bottom of the passage way, and a top cover for said passage way having therein a slot which directly overhangs the major portion of the bottom of the passage way above said pockets and is made many times the width of the coin intended to be dropped therethrough to permit a coin to be dropped directly from different points in the slot toward the different pockets, said pins being arranged "to prevent the coin being dropped directly into any given pocket, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet comprising walls forming awide vertical coin passage, one wall being transparent, coin deflecting means in said passage, and a cover o er said passage provided with a slot extending substantially the ,width of the passage and having its marginal side edges formed of glass.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet provided with a wide vertically disposed coin passage having its front wall transparent, a series of. partitions at the bottom of said passage subdividingit into pockets, ,resilientmembers disposed at the upper end of said partitions, rubber covered pinsdisposed in the passage above said intermediate pockets,.a block overhanging each end coin, pocket and having in clined top and bottom walls, a resilientmember. at the apex of each block, a movable bottom for the coin pockets and a till to receive the coins fromthe pockets, the central and the two end pockets constituting premium giving pockets and being so designated,.said pins and blocks being disposed to prevent a coin being dropped directly into any one of-said premium giving peck"- ets, and said cabinethaving an elongated coin slot at the upper end of said coin passage which slot extends over the several pins and resilient members, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, a cabinet-having a till, a coin passage disposed vertically above'said till, a. glass front for said passage, vertical partitions which divide the bottom of the passage into coin pockets, resilient members at the upper ends of the'partitions, a rubber covered pin disposed centrally above and adjacent to the middle pocket, 2. similar pin. above each pocket next to the middle pocket, an inclined deflector disposed over each end pocket, resilient members at the inner ends. of said deflectors, and a rubber covered pin disposed above .and in a vertical line between the resilient member ofeach deflector and the pin over the adjacent intermediate pocket, said cabinet having a coin slot at the top of said passage which extends over said several pins, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet having a coin'passage, a glass front for said passage, a series of partitions which subdivide the lower end of the passage into coin pockets, rubber tips at the 

